When I first started visiting Hertford, I remember being amazed that I could sit in one coffee shop and see at least four others from the same seat. It’s a town that clearly loves its coffee. After a few visits, there were a handful of coffee shops in Hertford I wanted to understand better. So for this write-up, I went straight to the top. I spoke with the owners, founders, and CEOs to find out what makes each shop unique. Here’s what I found.
Bean & Gone Coffee
Bean & Gone sits just outside Hertford’s main hub. It’s easy enough to reach, with parking directly outside. Of all the coffee shops in Hertford featured here, it is the one you’re least likely to stumble upon. That is part of its appeal. A favourite among cyclists, dog walkers and local families, it feels deeply rooted in its community.
That community is something co-owner Jordi speaks about with obvious pride. Alongside his partner Ruby, he has run Bean & Gone for the past four and a half years. Yet the business that exists today began in far humbler surroundings.
“We were a horsebox trailer before,” he says. “It was good fun in the summer. Not so much in the winter.”
The opportunity emerged after Covid when the neighbouring bike shop wanted a coffee offering on site. Around this part of Hertford there were few independent options. That was especially true for the cyclists and walkers using the nearby park. The pair saw an opening.
“There was nothing for the park and nothing for cyclists,” Jordi explains. “So we wanted to make a cycle destination.”
From Horsebox to Wooden Kiosk
Operating from a converted horsebox helped establish a following, but winter brought frozen pipes and sub-zero mornings. Eventually Bean & Gone moved into its current wooden kiosk-style premises. It gained the shelter and flexibility that only a permanent indoor space can provide.
“Having an inside space makes a huge, huge difference,” says Jordi. “It really is night and day.”
Despite its modest size, Bean & Gone embodies many of the qualities that define modern specialty coffee. Jordi and Ruby spent years visiting cafés in London and across Hertfordshire. They developed a love for coffee culture before ever serving it professionally.
“I never thought I would be running a coffee shop,” Jordi admits. “I’ve always appreciated it from the customer’s point of view.”
The aim was never to create an exclusive space for coffee enthusiasts. Instead, Bean & Gone strikes a balance between quality and accessibility.
A Relaxed Spot for Cyclists and Dog Walkers
Inside, a handful of tightly arranged tables make the most of the compact space. Outside is where the café truly comes into its own. Several picnic benches are spread across the forecourt. Customers can catch up with friends, watch the world go by or simply enjoy a coffee in the open air.
“If you’re into your coffee, you can still enjoy it,” Jordi says. “But if you’re someone who’s just dropped the kids off at a club, they can come down and still have whatever they fancy.”
The house coffee comes from Roastworks in Devon, a roastery Jordi discovered almost by chance and has worked with since opening.
“It’s a good all-rounder,” he says. “It ticks all the boxes but doesn’t get too complicated.”
Today, regulars make up the bulk of trade. Dog walkers, cyclists and local families fill the outdoor seating. Newcomers continue to discover the café for the first time.
“We get a lot of people who say, ‘I’ve lived in Hertford all this time and had no idea you’re here.'”
Looking ahead, Jordi talks about roasting coffee himself and perhaps one day moving into larger premises. Yet he is aware that growth must not come at the expense of what already works.
“We’d love to keep growing,” Jordi says. “But we want to keep that community feel. That’s the most important thing.”
Bean & Gone Coffee | Great Northern Works, 9A – 9D Hartham Lane, Hertford, SG14 1QN | Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 9:15am-4pm | Motorcycle parking: Free just outside | Instagram: @beanandgonecoffeeherts
Cult Club Coffee
Cult Club Coffee, with its crisp black-and-white branding, is easy to spot in this busy corner of town. Step through the door and the mood shifts to something more intimate. Textured teal walls, simple wooden furnishings and shelves lined with coffee bags set the scene.
It has only been open a matter of months, but already feels like a place with a strong sense of identity.
I sat down with Andy, owner and founder, and learned that even the name reflects his long-term ambitions. “We’re going to do evenings eventually as well,” he tells me. “There’ll be club nights.” At that moment, In Between Feelings by Jordan Lee is playing overhead. The laid-back bass notes and in-the-pocket drumbeat feel perfectly suited to the vision he describes.
Nothing feels overly serious, despite the obvious care that goes into what they’re doing. “There’s a focas menu and a little focas menu, so it’s kind of all just a bit cheeky,” he says.
Cult Club is Andy’s first venture of his own after helping another café owner establish a successful business. The experience taught him a lot, but also convinced him it was time to back himself.
“I helped another guy set up a coffee shop and it went really well,” he says. “Then I was like, okay, maybe I should do it for me, not somebody else.” A year later, Cult Club opened its doors.
East London to Hertford
The coffee served here comes from Climpson & Sons. As I sipped my Americano, Andy explained what draws him to the East London roaster. “The first specialty coffee I ever tried was Climpson’s,” he says. “I’ve been all around the world, tried all different coffees, and still this is my favourite all-round coffee.”
Andy believes coffee shouldn’t feel exclusive or become an expensive luxury. While many cafés continue to push prices upwards, Cult Club has deliberately taken a different approach.
“What we decided here is that we try and keep prices as low as we can to get more people through the door,” he says.
It’s not achieved by cutting corners. Quite the opposite. “Everything is made in-house,” Andy explains. “Nothing’s frozen.”
Bread is repurposed into breadcrumbs, ingredients are used thoughtfully and waste is kept to a minimum. The goal is simple: serve fresh food, make excellent coffee and keep it affordable.
“You’ve got to make it affordable,” he says. “Coffee should be approachable.”
Cult Club Coffee | 5 Parliament Square, Hertford SG14 1EX | Open every day 7:45am-4pm | Motorcycle parking: 30 mins free on Fore Street | Instagram: @cultclubcoffee
Brew Garden
Housed in a prominent curved corner building in the heart of town, Brew Garden makes an immediate impression with its dark-painted exterior and sweeping arched windows.
Luciano, founder and CEO of Brew Garden, brought more than 25 years of coffee experience with him. He opened the Hertford café in December 2022. Rather than choose between Italian espresso tradition and modern specialty coffee, he set out to combine the best of both.
Luciano had already earned recognition in London’s coffee scene before Brew Garden. The Times once named his espresso the best in London.
“I love the richness, body and tradition of a proper Italian espresso,” he says. “But there have also been huge advances in our understanding of beans, roasting, extraction, temperature and consistency. I wanted to take the best of both.”
The Machine Behind the Counter
One of the first things customers will notice is the Elektra Belle Epoque espresso machine. “Visually, it’s extraordinary, almost a piece of Italian sculpture,” Luciano says. The design goes back generations and is still built on essentially the same traditional principles. But he says its appearance is only half the story.
“Espresso is incredibly sensitive to temperature and pressure,” he explains. A machine may reach nine bars, but that doesn’t mean it holds that pressure through the whole extraction. Luciano has worked on his machine so that it maintains a sustained nine bars while keeping the brewing temperature stable. Most customers will never notice the difference, but he does.
“The objective is consistency,” he says. “If we’ve gone to all the trouble of sourcing the beans, developing Revelation and controlling the roast, I don’t want to lose that work during the final 25 or 30 seconds when we actually extract the espresso.”
Revelation is Brew Garden’s signature blend. Luciano sources the beans and works with a local roastery to produce a blend roasted to his own specification. “I want body, richness and depth without the coffee becoming harsh or excessively bitter,” he says.
Why Temperature Matters
One of the biggest misconceptions he encounters is the belief that hotter coffee automatically means better coffee. “There’s still a tendency to believe that the hotter a coffee is, the better it is,” he says.
Overheating milk can mask flavour and reduce its natural sweetness, but Luciano has little interest in lecturing customers. If someone wants an extra-hot coffee, they’ll get one. Education, he believes, should be gentle rather than intimidating.
Since opening, Brew Garden has evolved beyond coffee alone. Breakfast, pizzas, beer and wine now sit alongside espresso. Together they make an all-day offering that reflects the European café culture Luciano grew up with.
Coffee remains at the heart of the business, but not at the expense of everything else.
“Coffee, food, beer, wine and conversation all belong together,” he says.
Brew Garden | 3 Maidenhead St, Hertford SG14 1DP | Mon 7am-10pm, Tue-Thu 7am-11pm, Fri 7am-10pm, Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 9am-6pm | Motorcycle parking: free at Gascoyne Way Car Park | Instagram: @brew.garden
Mudlarks Garden Cafe
Mudlarks is unlike any of the other coffee shops in Hertford. On the surface, it is an independent serving specialty coffee, homemade cakes and colourful vegetarian dishes. But that is just part of the story.
The café is run by Mudlarks, a Hertford-based charity that has supported adults with learning disabilities for 17 years. It does so through horticultural therapy and social enterprise opportunities.
I spoke with Ricky, CEO at Mudlarks, and he explained that the two sides are inseparable.
“The premise is that our gardeners, who have learning disabilities, grow produce at our allotment,” he tells me. “That produce goes to the café and is turned into healthy, thoughtful dishes provided to the local Hertford community.”
When the café opened around 11 years ago, the aim was to provide healthy food while making use of as much home-grown produce as possible.
The result is a fully vegetarian menu with plenty of choice. Every dish serves as a reminder of the wider mission taking place behind the scenes.
Coffee With a Purpose
Coffee plays an important role too. Mudlarks sources its beans from Sustain Coffee in nearby Hatfield, a partnership Ricky says was a natural fit.
“One of the core aspects of who we are is sustainability,” he explains. “To partner with Sustain, who obviously try to provide coffee on a sustainable basis, is a natural partnership.”
What perhaps separates Mudlarks most from a traditional café is what happens during service. Alongside the kitchen and front-of-house team are café assistants with learning disabilities. Dedicated mentors support them, focusing entirely on helping them learn, contribute and build confidence.
“If we have a café assistant who is at the till and is finding it challenging to find the right buttons, our mentor would support them with that,” Ricky says. “The mentor is there solely to provide guidance and support.”
Events and Community
Beyond the café itself, Mudlarks runs a busy calendar of events. These range from community workshops and wreath-making sessions to charity quizzes and festive dinners. Every event helps raise money for the charity. It also brings more people into the community it has built over those 17 years.
Yet Ricky is keen that visitors do not see Mudlarks simply as a good cause.
“We don’t expect customers to come along purely because of the cause,” he says. “We want them to come along and visit the café because they get to experience fantastic food and drink.”
Then he pauses to explain what happens when those customers do choose to spend their money there.
“They’re not just buying a meal or a drink. They’re supporting people with learning disabilities who would otherwise find it very challenging to find somewhere meaningful where they can make a good contribution.”
Mudlarks Garden Cafe | 32 Fore St, Hertford SG14 1BY | Tue-Sat 9am-4pm | Motorcycle parking: free at Gascoyne Way Car Park | Instagram: @mudlarkscommunity
Proto Artisan Bakery
I’d previously stopped by Proto in St Albans for a coffee and come away impressed. I was looking forward to my visit here. Inside, it’s far bigger than I had imagined and exposed concrete ceilings create a bright, relaxed atmosphere.
I sat down with owner James Proto at the company’s recently opened Hertford location. He described a business that has grown steadily from humble beginnings. It now spans three sites and around 50 staff.
“We started at home,” he told me.
Six years ago, James was working as a London black cab driver. Around the same time, he had begun baking bread and pastries that suited his wife’s dietary requirements. “The rest is history,” he said with a smile.
The first Proto location opened in Ware five years ago. Unlike Hertford, it functions primarily as a working bakery. There is a small counter and a constant stream of production behind the scenes. With no seating, customers kept asking for somewhere to sit.
“We always had people asking for somewhere they could sit and enjoy the food.”
That search ultimately led to Hertford. The town made sense geographically, and many existing customers already travelled from the area. James also found a property with the right proportions. High ceilings and generous space helped create the café atmosphere he felt the original bakery lacked.
A Hell of a Lot of Coffee
The coffee has been part of Proto’s story from the beginning. James says the Ware bakery was serving around 15kg of coffee a week when it opened. Today that figure at Ware is closer to 40kg.
“We do a hell of a lot of coffee,” he laughed.
Across all three sites, Proto serves coffee from All Things Bloom. Its founder is the former owner of The Gentlemen Baristas. James was drawn not only to the quality of the coffee but also to the values behind it. These include a programme that helps people experiencing homelessness or unemployment train as baristas.
The Hertford café opened in September, but the initial response has exceeded expectations. “It’s been really, really good,” James said. “A lot busier than I thought.”
While the coffee shops in Hertford are becoming increasingly competitive, James believes Proto occupies its own niche. “I have faith in what we produce.”
Proto Artisan Bakery | 39 Railway Street, Hertford SG14 1BA | Tue-Sun 8am-5pm | Motorcycle parking: free at Gascoyne Way Car Park | Instagram: @proto_artisan_bakery
Bonus Stop, Coffee Lab
I can’t leave the town without mentioning Coffee Lab, a Hertfordshire roaster with a growing number of shops in the county, and there is a story already on this site about how it grew from a tiny roaster in Hitchin.
From the street, Coffee Lab looks much like any other independent café in Hertford. It occupies a handsome charcoal-grey building just a few steps from Brew Garden. Head upstairs, however, and you’ll find something a little different. The dedicated co-working area is bright, quiet and filled with natural light from large sash windows. There are plenty of tables, power points and space to settle in for hours of focused work.
It’s ideal for freelancers, remote workers or anyone looking to escape the kitchen table for the morning. It’s one of the most useful and underrated spaces among the coffee shops in Hertford.
Coffee Lab | 6 Bull Plain, Hertford SG14 1DT | Mon-Fri 7:30am-5pm, Sat 8am-5pm, Sun 8:30am-4pm | Motorcycle parking: free at Gascoyne Way Car Park | Instagram: @hertscoffeelab
Coffee Shops in Hertford Worth the Ride
Hertford’s independent coffee scene is booming. Bean & Gone grew from a horsebox into a cycle-friendly kiosk, and Cult Club keeps its prices low. Brew Garden blends Italian tradition with specialty precision, while Mudlarks Garden Cafe turns every cup into support for its gardeners. With Proto and Coffee Lab alongside them, these are the best coffee shops in Hertford for a relaxed ride-out stop.
Every stop above comes with a motorcycle parking tip, so planning a visit is simple. Pick one, or try them all in a day. Then browse more of our coffee coverage to find your next stop.
